The strategy, originally put together by Lloyd’s
predecessor, Vice Adm. Mark Norman, would see
an increased use of the Halifax-class frigates and the
Victoria-class submarines. The platforms would be
kept in forward operating locations on international
missions for longer periods.

To do that, the RCN intends to swap crews, allowing
the warships to continue to operate thousands of miles
from Canada without interruption.

Another theme Lloyd will pursue is overseeing the
RCN’s transition to future fleets.

The service is operating 11 recently modernized
frigates, but is without its own at-sea resupply capability and, with the impending retirement next year of the
destroyer HMCS Athabaskan, it will be without area air
defense for its task groups, Lloyd said.

But new ships are on the horizon.

Construction has started on the new Arctic Offshore
Patrol Ships or AOPS. The first of those ships is expected in 2018, Lloyd noted. Six AOPS will be delivered
and training already has begun for the first ship’s command team.

The vessels will carry Canada’s new Cyclone mari-time helicopter, built by Sikorsky, and provide a capabil-ity not only for the Arctic, but also for longer missionsin domestic and international waters, such as counter-narcotics and humanitarian assistance, Lloyd said.

Two new Joint Support Ships, to provide fuel and
resupply at sea for naval task groups, are expected
sometime after 2020. Construction of the first of those
vessels is expected to begin in 2018.

Starting in 2024, the RCN also expects to receive
a new type of vessel dubbed the Canadian Surface
Combatant, or CSC.

The CSC will consist of two variants. The first of these
will be the Area Air Defense and Task Group Command
and Control variant to replace the Iroquois-class destroyers, of which HMCS Athabaskan is the last. The second
group of ships will be a General Purpose CSC variant
designed to replace the Halifax-class frigates.

Construction is to begin sometime after 2020 and
the RCN originally wanted 15 of the new ships.

But Lloyd said it still is in the early days of the
project and a design, to be based on an existing off-the-shelf warship, has yet to be selected. Once further
details are known about the design, numbers can be
worked out, he added.

During the transition period to the new vessels, the
RCN will need help from its allies, in particular Chile,
the United States and Spain.

53 WWW.SEAPOWERMAGAZINE.ORG SEAPOWER / NOVEMBER 2016
The Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Calgary steams alongside the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS
John C. Stennis Aug. 1 during Rim of the Pacific 2016. Royal Canadian Navy officials have been consulting with U.S.
Navy counterparts for advice and support about increasing operations in the Asia-Pacific region.